Clarity. Advocacy. Simplicity. Creativity. I like making connections. Not to confuse but to understand. From inspiring to amusing to unexpected ... to politically progressive. Between people, places, things. Ideas, beliefs, words. Events, issues, solutions. To explain. To enjoy. To grow. To advise. For fun, call me Garbl. I'm an acronym!

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Sunday, June 17, 2012

People are cynical about innovation because innovation often hasn’t delivered what has been promised. But looking more closely at the reasons why uncovers some basic truths.

Those truths include:

One, many promises have been overstated, by people with a vested interest in promoting innovation. ...

Two, people are often cynical about innovation because they realize it is occasionally used as a scapegoat or “flavor of the month”. ...

After further discussion, Phillips concludes:

Until you recognize that you haven’t seen it all, that you can’t even imagine all the opportunities, that cynicism is a set of blinders meant to keep you in line, you are definitely correct: you can’t innovate. There is no more self-fulfilling prophecy than a cynic who boldly declares that he or she “can’t innovate”. They are exactly right, and self-reinforcing to boot. Get rid of your cynicism, approach innovation opportunities with a sense of wonder, enthusiasm, possibility. Yes, that means shedding your green eyeshades and corporate cynicism. ...

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This article is featured in Garbl's Creativity Connections for June 17, 2012. My daily paper is available at the Creativity link above -- and by free online subscription.